Where people matter

L’Unico Trattoria Italiano

While longevity is undoubtedly a sign of restaurant success, there’s much more than being well-established that makes L’Unico Trattoria Italiano at Trinity Beach a hugely popular venue.

The family-run business, overlooking stunning views of the Coral Sea and housed in a quintessential Far North Queensland style building, has dominated the Trinity Beach restaurant scene for 28 years. For owners Matt and Annie Turner, who took over the business five years ago, and business partners Stuart and Samira Shahin, L’Unico is a big part of the community.

“It's a part of the fabric of our community,” Matt says. “It's been involved in weddings, birthdays and all kinds of celebrations. People's children have come here for their mum and dad's wedding, and now they're coming here to get married themselves. It’s a lot more than just a business.

“We're a big family restaurant. We're not a corporate conglomerate. Everything that we do matters. And I think what you get from this trattoria is a family experience where people matter and where the food is delicious.”

And the food really is delicious - the Restaurant Association of Australia has recognised L’Unico as one of the top eight Italian restaurants in the nation.

Understandably, pasta dishes and wood-fired pizzas feature prominently on the menu with a huge selection of both available. Its house-made lasagne (with meat or vegetables) is hard to go past, as is the home-made gnocchi and four-cheese sauce. But it’s equally hard not to sink your teeth into angel hair pasta with bugs, chilli, white wine and parmesan, as well as its spaghetti marinara or veal ravioli in a creamy mushroom and truffle sauce.

As well as heavenly Italian food, the menu also features such irresistible choices as Gulf of Carpentaria calamari; pork belly with apple, rocket salad and pea puree; ocean-fresh tiger prawns made with a rich garlic cream sauce and arborio rice; and farm-fresh chicken supreme fillet made with fresh seasonal produce.

Matt, who has been in hospitality in Far North Queensland for more than 30 years, says the secret to good Italian food is in its simplicity.

“If you get tomato from a supermarket, they're processed,” he says. “But if you get roma tomatoes from one of those great spots that are producing food straight off the vine, you don't need to wait till it gets to room temperature. It already is. And you cut that open and sprinkle a little bit of white pepper and a little bit of salt on there and close your eyes - you could be in Sicily eating a white bread tomato sandwich.”

It is this reason why sourcing produce from local farmers and suppliers is important for Matt and his team.

“We’re always on the lookout for relationships with our suppliers,” Matt says. “We've just picked up a local fellow who's started a business selling mushrooms, and they're phenomenal.”

Matt knows the industry inside out. He started in hospitality as a bartender, then became a waiter and then a restaurant manager before buying his first cafe more than 20 years ago. He next opened a restaurant and had it for 13 years, which was a ‘massive success’, before taking over the helm at L’Unico. His experience has given him insight into all aspects of the restaurant business and given him a great understanding and empathy for the various staff roles.

It is this connection with the crew and their roles that makes it second nature for him to not only treat them as extended family members, but to ensure his hospitality professionals embody the caring spirit of the family-oriented restaurant.

“The food that we serve and the service we provide matters very much to us,” Matt says. “We look for staff whose focus is on making your experience more special And, we spend an exceptional amount of time making sure that our crew are happy, and what we can do in order to support them outside of work is also a major focus of ours.”

When Matt was in his late teens, he used to think about one day buying L’Unico. Today, he is ‘very, very grateful’ that he had that opportunity.

“I’ll stay here until I retire,” he says. “And that won’t be for a very, very long time.”